Clara
by Succulent Killer
Summary: Remember Clara, WICKED is good.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

One year, 86 days, 6:42 PM

Claire was running. Feet pounding, heart racing, tears streaming down her face. For even as she ran as fast as she could through a maze she had memorized, she knew she wasn't going to make it in time. '_I don't want to die'_ she thought hysterically. Through her panic she thought of the brown eyed boy waiting for her in the glade. '_I promised'_ her mind wandered back to that very morning, when everything was perfect.

One year, 86 days, 6:14 AM

They were lounging on her hammock, Newts fingers running through her long brown hair as they watched the sun rise over the wall. She played idly with the fingers on his free hand until they heard the walls open, the loud groaning making them both wince. She sighed, propping her chin up on his chest.

"We've got to get up." Claire whispered quietly, not wanting to break the peace surrounding them. He pulled her closer, hand in her hair coaxing her to lay her head back on his chest.

"Just a bit longer love." She didn't listen, pushing herself to sit up despite his protests.

"If we're late Minho will come looking for us and we'll have to deal with his whining, and it'll be all your fault." She teased, grinning at Newt

"No way! He's your best friend, _you_ have to deal with him whining." Newt laughed, flashing her a winning smile as she pouted at him.

"Newt!" Claire whined, trying to get out of the hammock, only for Newt to flip her so she was underneath him. The hammock swayed precariously, though they managed not to fall. She laughed gleefully and he smiled, utter adoration clear in his eyes.

"Lets just be sick today," He murmured, taking her hands and pinning them above her head, interlocking their fingers. "Stay in bed…"

Still giggling, Claire leaned up and kissed him sweetly until he was thoroughly distracted, before flipping him over, managing to overturn the hammock as well. Newt groaned when they hit the ground but quickly overpowered her, flipping her over once more. He pinned her easily, lacing their fingers automatically.

"I win." Newt teased, leaning down to kiss her nose, then her mouth. They kissed slowly, interrupted occasionally by smiles and laughter, pure happiness shining through. They may be stuck in a seemingly endless maze, but they had each other. That was all they really needed. Before they could go any further they were interrupted by a pounding on the door.

"Rise and shine you shanks, you're late!" A voice yelled.

"Bugger off Minho!" Newt yelled back, annoyed at the interruption.

"If you're not out before breakfast, I'll get Gally to drag you out!" Newt groaned and dropped his head into Claires neck.

"Give us a minute slinthead!" Claire yelled at her best friend, kissing Newt's fluffy hair before shoving him off of her and jumping up. She quickly plaited her hair and got changed into her shorts and red t-shirt. Claire saw Newt staring and smirked. She kissed him slowly and pulled back. "Later." she promised. Of course, that was before everything had gone to hell.

One year, 86 days, 6:48 PM

She should've stayed in bed. Claire had kissed Newt goodbye and taken off into her assigned section. Everything was normal at first, she'd been in the outside section of the maze when everything changed. The ground lurched beneath her feet, throwing her to the ground. Claire rolled for a few feet before jumping up, staring in confusion at the maze around her. It was still and silent. Then all at once, the walls began to move. Claire started, shocked, for a moment before taking off, dodging walls and crawling through the cracks for hours, and when it was finally still again, the sun was getting low and she was lost. By the time she figured out where she was, it was to late. There was no way she could make it back to the Glade in time.

She was so close. She turned the last corner and could see the glade, only five hundred feet left. But the doors were well over half way shut. Nearly the entire glade was gathered just passed the entrance, Gally pinning Minho to the ground while Alby, Fry, and Nick held back a struggling Newt. The rest of the gladers were screaming for her to run faster.

Three hundred feet… two hundred…

She skidded to a stop, the doors nearly shut. If she tried to get through the walls would crush her. She locked eyes with Newt just before the doors sealed shut.

She was locked in the maze.

No one survived a night in the maze.

But she was sure as hell gonna try. Claire wiped her tears, took a deep breath and took off into the maze.

One year, 87 days, 4:58 AM

Claire was running. Feet pounding, heart racing, tears streaming down her face, but she knew she wasn't going to make it. Sunrise was hours away, the griever was right behind her. As dark as it was, Claire couldn't see a shucking thing, and had no idea where she was. Her heart stopped when she nearly ran into a wall, she quickly realized she'd run into a dead end. Claire turned slowly, heart in her throat, knowing there wwas no way out.

She turned to face the monster looming over her.

As the giant spider like creautre chittered, seeming to enjoy her fear, before it raised one of its many arms, a sharp, long needle at the end. Claire closed her bright blue eyes. She did not want that monster to be the last thing she saw. She thought of her best friend, who would no doubt blame himself for her death, and Newt. Her Newt.

She could barely breath when the griever stabbed into her shoulder. Despite her best efforts, she cried out in pain, knees buckling. Claire fell to the ground, vision begining to blur. She let out a quiet sob, not noticing the Griever back away.

"I don't want to die." She nearly whispered. She had been so close, she could see the sky brightening. If she'd made it another hour she would be home. "I don't want to die." She whispered again as she started to lose consciousness. Part of the wall shifted and let out a blindingly white light, several people in full body suits waiting behind.

'_Don't worry Clara, I've got you'_ Claire heard a voice say, but she couldn't pinpoint where it came from. She didn't have long to worry about it, the sheer familiarity and longing she felt when she heard it, before everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N. Hey everyone! Thank you for checking out my first story! Unlike my other story, FindingXAyami, this one isn't finished, I'm writing as I go, so I wont update as regularly. This book will be shorter as well, but I'm planning on writing through all three movies. Enjoy!**

Chapter Two

Year Two, Day 31, 12:00 P.M

Acidic liquid surged up her throat as she woke and Claire choked, quickly flipping over and retching onto the cold grated floor. Claire looked around blairily, noticing crates full of supplies around her and another boy vomiting in the corner. Lights flashed by as the elevator shot upward at an alarming speed. '_Am I in the Greenie Box?' _Claire thought, struggling to her feet.

"You alright?" She called to the kid, pushing down her panic, not knowing how she got here.

"Who are you? Where am I?" The teenager snapped.

"My names Clara, you can call me Claire. We're in the Greenie Box." She explained.

"I-I don't remember my name. Why can't I remember my name? I- Why don't I remember anything? What's a Greenie Box? Where are we going? Why-"

"Slim it!" Claire snapped, cutting him off. Now she got why Alby was always so annoyed at the Greenies. "We'll be there any-" The box jerked to a stop, cutting her off and knocking both of them to the ground. "...second… ow…" Claire groaned. She'd hit a crate on the way down, that was definitely gonna bruise. The boy stood first and helped her to her feet.

"How did you know-"

"I've been here before. Well, I guess not here-here, I woke up topside, but-" The doors above them were ripped open, the sudden light temporarily blinding the two of them. Claire stumbled backwards into a corner and out of the light as her eyes adjusted, migraine already forming. There was a crowd of boys surrounding the box, jeering loudly at the boy, apparently not noticing Claire. A large, bell built boy with short blonde hair jumped into the box.

"Day one Greenie." He boomed, stalking towards the frightened boy.

"Scaring the newbies again, Gally?" Claire said, stepping into the light. Gally froze, gaping at the girl. She looked exactly as she had when she'd gone missing, all long dark brown hair hanging down to her ribs and bright aquamarine eyes, full lips curled up into a playful smirk. The gladers above them went silent, staring at the girl.

"Clara?" Gally asked.

"Miss me?" She asked, a smirk turning into a wide smile. Gally strode forward abruptly, yanking the shorter girl into a hug, ignoring the boys above them as they started cheering and yelling questions down at them. Gally and Claire had never been super close, but she had been there with them since the beginning and he had missed his friend. After a moment he stepped back, releasing her.

"How are you here?" He asked.

"I have absolutely no clue." Claire said, stepping passed him towards the edge of the box where many hands lowered to help her up. She grabbed two and was pulled out of the box and into their arms. She had barely realised it was Mikey, one of the early Gladers, before she was stolen away by Frypan. She was passed from Glader to Glader while Gally dealt with the newbie until she ended up with Nick and Alby.

"What the shuck happened that night? How are you here?" Nick demanded even as he smothered her in a hug.

"I have no clue, last thing I remember I was in the maze cornered by a Griever." Claire explained, pulling away.

"We have to call a gathering." Alby added.

"We should get her to the med-jacks first, make sure everything's okay-"

"How long have I been gone?" Claire interrupted. Both boys turned and saw her staring, horrified, at Jeremy, a builder who had been sent up four months ago.

"Uh…" Nick hesitated.

"I can see four boys that I've never met before and I have bruises that I know I didn't get in the maze. How long?"

"Nine months." Alby answered. Claire closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm down.

"Where's Newt? Is he still in the maze? The suns getting low, he'll be out soon, right?" Nick and Alby shared a look and Claire's heart stopped. "Where's Newt?" She demanded, trying to breath. '_He can't be gone'_

"Claire- Claire he's okay, breath. He's in the infirmary." Nick said, trying to calm her down.

"Why?" Claire demanded.

"Claire, its- something happened…" Nick struggled for a moment before sighing. "When you died- sorry- didn't make it out of the maze, Newt- he just couldn't take it, you know how much he cared about you. He- he went out a couple days after and climbed the wall-"

"No…" Claire breathed, knowing where this was going even as she tried to deny it.

"He jumped, Clara. Minho found him stuck in the vines, he shucked his leg up pretty bad, he's been laid up ever since."

"No… He wouldn't-"

"He did. You were his whole world, Claire, everyone knows that. When the maze took you, he just...gave up. He didn't want to be here without you." Nick said gently. Claire dropped her head into her hands, trying and failing not to cry. Guilt was absolutely crushing her, she could barely breathe under the weight of it all.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Claire choked out.

"He's been a bit of a dick to be honest."

"Alby!" Nick hissed at his friend.

"What? It's true!" Alby insisted. Claire couldn't help but laugh.

"He's cranky because he's been on bed rest for eight months, Cling and Jeff fixed him up the best they could. He'll be off the crutches soon, but he'll probably always have a limp. Do you want to see him before we get you checked out?" Nick asked. Claire nodded eagerly and they set off towards the Medhut, alby staying behind to deal with the greenie. Rumor of her return must have reached the Medhut because Clint and Jeff were waiting eagerly outside. Clint rushed forward, picking her up and spinning her around joyfully.

"We missed your clumsy ass!" He declared, making her burst into laughter before he passed her to Jeff, who hugged her tightly. She'd spent a lot of time with the boys before she was lost in the maze. Claires feet always ran faster than her mind did so she would often clip corners in the maze or trip over debris. As the three of them calmed down, smiles faded.

"How is he?" Claire asked.

"Better than he was at the beginning. He didn't want to be saved, for a while we had to make him eat, and someone had to be watching him just in case he tried again." Jeff explained.

"He's doing better now, except for the nightmares. He's been drawing a lot, I think it helps him calm down. He has good days and bad days, but I'm sure you being here will work wonders." Clint said, offering her a small smile.

"I'm gonna go check on the Greenie, make sure Alby hasn't traumatized him yet. After she sees Newt I want you two to check her out, see if you can figure out what happened to her. Claire, do you need anything?" Nick asked.

"Can you ask Fry to send me some food? I'm starving?"

"Can do. It's good to have you back, Clara." Nick offered her a grin.

"Good to be back." She said as he walked away. She turned to Jeff and Clint who nodded at the Medhut.

"He's upstairs. We'll come check on you guys soon. Just a warning, he's on a bad day today." Jeff warned. Claire nodded determinedly and went inside, quickly scaling the stairs and hesitating in front of a closed door before pushing it open. The room was dark, but she could see Newt laying on a bed, turned away from the door. There were several detailed sketches on the table next to his bed, most of them of her.

"Leave me alone, Shuck-face." Newt spat without turning, assuming it was Jeff or Clint again.

"Well that's not rude at all." Claire drawled, watching his whole body stiffen like he'd been struck by lightning, Newt shot upward, whipping around to face the source. He knew that voice.

Year Zero, Day 107, 6:17 P.M.

It had been four months since the twenty one Gladers had woken up in the Glade, not knowing who they were or where they came from. It had been chaos at first, several people being killed right off the bat, running into the maze or even attacking each other. In the end only fifteen of the original gladers remained, as well as four more boys who had been sent up every thirty days or so.

After all of that, things were finally starting to settle down. They'd finally set some ground rules and developed a schedule, giving each glader a job. They finally had a functioning community instead of a bunch of kids scrambling to survive, and Newt was incredibly proud of his part in it. He had been heading towards the mess hall when he heard her running up behind him.

"Newt, Newt wait up!" Claire called as she scaled the hill he had just climbed. He turned in time to steady her as she tripped over her own feet, trying to stop too late.

"Hey slowpoke." Newt teased, trying to push down the slight blush coloring his cheeks.

"I'm not slow, you're legs are just longer than mine." Claire said, putting her hands on her hips and pouting at him as he tried not to stare at the aforementioned legs. Newts chuckled weakly, throwing an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close as they walked toward the mess hall.

"What did you need love?" Newt asked. Claire launched into a story about a bet she'd made with Gally, blue eyes shining and dimples on display as her arms flailed widely whenever she got into it. Newt tuned it out for the most part, just watching her with a small smile, trying desperately not to fall for her anymore than he already had. He jolted slightly when she turned her big blue eyes back on him and quickly focused on the words instead of her pretty mouth.

"So I said 'you're on' but I was definitely bluffing and I have no idea how to do that and I really hate being wrong so can you teach me?" Claire rambled, turning a blinding smile toward Newt when she finished. Not entirely sure what she was talking about, Newt offered her a smile anyway, unable to deny her.

"Sure love, we can start tomorrow." Newt agreed, hoping he'd figure it out before then. Claire, beamed, standing on her toes to peck him on the cheek.

"You're the best, Newt!" She declared, before running toward Minho to tell him her story as well. Newt smiled, watching her tackle the Asian man, before following, hoping to figure out what exactly he'd agreed to.

Year Two, Day 31, 12:42 P.M

'_She's here.'_

'_He's here.'_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Year Two, Day 31, 12:42 P.M

For a moment, neither of them moved. Then she was across the room in his arms and he had never held her tighter. They didn't say a word, just sat on the bed holding each other and gasping for air as if they'd forgotten how to breathe in each other's absence. They calmed down slowly but didn't let go of eachother.

"You're alive." Newt whispered.

"I'm alive." Claire said with a watery chuckle.

"What appended? How are you here? Where have you been?" Newt asked.

"All good questions." Claire said, pulling away despite his protests and wiping the tear that had leaked out of the corner of his eyes. "I have no idea. I thought I was gonna die in the maze, but next thing I knew, I was in the greenie box." Claire shrugged.

"Did- did Nick tell you-"

"Yeah." Claire interrupted. Newt avoided her eyes but Claire grabbed his face and turned him to face her. "Promise me you'll never do that again."

"I can't."

"Newt-"

"I refuse to live without you again."

"Newt! You can't just _do_ that! Our friends would be devastated and I'd be pissed."

"I don't care if you'd hate me for all of eternity, at least I'd be with you."

"You don't know that Newt! You almost died on a maybe!"

"Maybe's better than nothing. If there was a chance I could be with you, I was going to take it." Newt stared at her challengingly and she blinked at him, speechless. She honestly wasn't sure what to say. Way back in the early days of the maze, another Glader had asked what happened when you died. No one knew what to say, and she and Newt talked about it several times after. They didn't know for sure, but they both hoped that they'd end up with the people they cared about. Eventually Claire sighed, offering him a small smile.

"I suppose I'll have to stick around and keep an eye on you then." She said, leaning down to kiss him slowly, her fair falling around him and hiding them from the world. Eventually she climbed off of his lap, settling down next to him and laying down, talking quietly. Eventually he fell asleep, and Claire decided to let him be, seeing the dark circles underneath his eyes. She carefully slipped out of his arms and went downstairs to find Clint, who had her take off her T-shirt and jacket, leaving her in a sports bra and light blue denim shorts. They found several bruises and scars litterine her body.

"Someone beat the clunk out of you." Jeff declared. Claire gave him a deadpan look.

"Thanks, Jeff, that's very helpful." She snarked. Clint pointed out the one inch band of bruised and chafed skin that ran around each wrist and ankle.

"Looks like you were restrained, and from the needle mark on your arm I'm guessing they had to drug you. You've got bruised knuckles and blood under your nails so I'm guessing you put up a hell of a fight." Clint explained,writing something down in his journal.

"Atta girl!" Jeff laughed before getting serious. He pointed out some new scars running down the right side of her ribs. They were thin, jagged lines running parallel to each other, each about a centimeter apart. "Looks like a large animal clawed you, the scars are still pink and raised so it probably happened early on. I'm not sure what the ones on your thigh could be." He said, nodding towards her left thigh. There were two small marks there, about an inch long and parallel to each other. Though they were small, they definitely ran deep into her skin, you could almost feel it when you pressed down around them. Other than being beat to hell, there was nothing much they could tell from her time away, so she got dressed again and went to check on Newt. She found him curled in a ball gasping for air, in the middle of a panic attack.

"Newt! Newt whats wrong?" Claire asked, rushing towards him frantically. He didn't respond but reached out, yanking her towards him and holding her tightly. He muttered something that she couldn't understand and held her to him, rocking them slightly back and forth. Claire settled in for the moment, running her fingers through his hair and humming quietly. It took a while before he managed to calm down.

"I woke up and you were gone." Newt choked out. "I thought- I thought it was just a dream."

"Shh… I've got you. I'm here and I'm not leaving you." Claire promised. As his breathing went back to normal Claire settled down next to him and they started talking quietly, Newt catching her up on everything she'd missed in the last ten months. While they talked, they were constantly touching each other. Newt was playing with her hair or Claire was playing with his fingers, but they stayed close the whole time. Eventually Jeff came to announce that it was time for dinner. He helped Newt out of the bed and Claire quickly found his crutches and brought them over to him. They helped him down the stairs and walked with him towards the Mess Hall. "How much longer on the crutches?" She asked Jeff.

"Two more days, we'll keep him in the Med Hut for another week and then he can get back to work." Jeff explained.

"Where are you gonna be working?" Claire asked Newt.

"Mostly the Gardens, but I'll help out wherever they need me. Nick said-" Claire didn't hear the rest, something collided with her from behind and sent her and whoever jumped her tumbling down a small hill. As soon as their momentum failed them and they'd rolled to a stop, Claire was yanked up and into a pair of arms.

"Minho!" Claire shrieked joyfully when she got a look at his face. She held her best friend tightly as he spun her around, the pair of them laughing like loons. Eventually they calmed down and Minho pulled her even closer, taking a shaky breath.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again, Claire-bear."

"I won't Min, I promise." She promised. Minho kissed her hair and pulled back with a smirk, He started to say something but was cut off by Newt.

"You gonna give me back my girl anytime soon Minho?" Newt asked, grinning playfully at his friend.

"Not a chance. Now that we have reunited, our love will never die!" Minho declared, dipping her as she laughed maniacally.

"Well, true love will have to wait. Frypans making baked potatoes and I'm not missing it." Claire and Minho's eyes lit up and they scrambled up, racing towards the cafeteria, pushing and tripping and tackling each other the whole way. They were so busy wrestling that Newt and Jeff managed to beat them there. When they did manage to stumble inside, Claire was swept away into a group of Gladers before she could get any food. Frypan eventually shoved his way through the loud crowd and dragged her away and to a table, dropping a plate in front of her and ordering her to eat.

"No wonder the Grievers didn't eat ya, you're a shucking toothpick Clary!" He whined.

"Slim it, Fry. Go grab a plate." Claire held up a hand to stall his protests. "Clean up can wait, I'll stay and help out. " She promised.

"I'll hold you to that." Fry said with a grin, leaving to grab a plate and joining her. Claire leaned against Newt as Minho, Nick, and Fry caught her up on what'd she'd missed, with occasional snarky comments from Alby that had them all in stitches. She glanced up and found Newt already watching her. Newt leaned down and pressed a slow, sweet kiss to her mouth, which she eagerly returned. They separated when Nick told them to 'get a room, there are children present.' as Minho and Jeff gagged dramatically.

"We've seen you and Alby do worse!" Newt snarked, making both boys blush madly.

"Slim it!" Alby barked as everyone laughed. Claire grinned, watching her boys. She missed this.

Year 2, Day 364 10:14 P.M.

Life went on. Nothing strange happened following Claire's return, one greenie came up every month, just as they always had. Newt's leg slowly got better and he eventually started working in the gardens, or just wherever he was needed around camp. It took a few months and several panic attacks before she convinced him to let her go back into the maze, on the condition that she ran with Minho and was back well before sundown. He wasn't happy about it, but knew there was little he could do to stop her. The maze didn't move, she returned early, and things stayed the same.

Until last month. They'd continued to have no luck with the maze, no sign of a way out, and someone suggested they try going down the elevator shaft. Nick volunteered. When they sent up the Greenie Box, it held a boy, barely older than ten. As they hustled him out and began removing the supplies that had been sent with him, Claire made her way over to Nick, who'd been talking quietly to a worried looking Alby.

"I have a bad feeling about this Nick." Claire murmured, eyeing the box distrustfully.

"We have to try. What if this is our way out?"

"What if- if whatever's out there is worse than here?"

"Then at least we'd be free. Not trapped here like rats in a cage. We have to try Claire." Nick said firmly, putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing. Claire nodded uncertainly and left him to Alby, making her way to Newt and the snivelling boy. Then-

Well, then they buried the half of his body they were able to recover. Nick had been there since the beginning, and his death shattered the Glade. They recovered eventually, although Alby was never quite the same. Claire and Minho threw themselves into running the maze while Alby and Newt led the camp. Life went on.

Then, Thomas jumped out of the Greenie Box. And he ran.


End file.
